Matrix Snap
by Sylo Corden
Summary: Lathain seeks out Ghost to help him take out a sketchy business, but as events unfold it brings Ghost's past back to haunt her . . .


Matrix Snap

1

Everything stopped

Across the table Torrin looked at me and I slowly shook my head

Knock, knock

The door knocker rattled on its hinge and I moved to answer the door, Torrin's clawed hand reaching beneath the table to grasp the gun which was hidden there. We didn't get unannounced guests, and whoever it was hadn't tripped the alarm at the gate, that meant someone had hacked the system. To get past Torrin's firewall you had to be good, damn good; and if you were that good it meant you were a runner, or military, either way we didn't want you in our house.

I angled my body to the doorway so Torrin had a clean shot at whoever was on the other side, I shifted my sight to focus on magic, a recent trick the local Kabal were teaching me, the door frame glowed bright to my eyes, my protection spell was holding, I placed a tentative hand on the door, the spell allowing me to see beyond to the street, there was a figure there, devoid of signs of life, which meant he carried tech, and a lot of it, but there was only one.

I pulled the door open and hauled the caller inside, I was surprised that he didn't resist and the caller found himself face down by the kitchen door. Torrin was all ready to fill the guy's head full of lead when I heard a voice I recognised, the blonde hair, pointed ears and bright green of Lathain's eyes stared up at me as he took in the surroundings.

"Oh hey Ghost" he said, his eyes moving to focus on Torrin and the huge gun in the Orc's hands "if this is how you treat your friends . . ."

"We're not friends" I interrupted, he gave me a look of disbelief as he rose slowly from the floor

"Well your _my_ friend" he said "You don't go through the crap that we did without making some friends" he stressed. I kept my mouth shut and poker face on, I shrugged my shoulders, see if I cared, since Emmet and Hanson I had no friends outside of Torrin, Doc and Amm, and that was how I liked it. "Hey Torrin, do you think you could stop pointing that thing at me?" Torrin looked to me

"Why are you here Lathain?"

"I need you on a job, well paid, easy enough for you" he said "I need you to get me into a _particular_ building" he made no move to hide that I might be interested in this building, Lathain knew little about me, so I was instantly curious as to what he really needed me for.

I nodded to Torrin who lowered the gun, Lathain visibly relaxed and straightened out his jacket, I motioned him into the kitchen and to the small dining table, he looked around at the tiny space, the walls were bare with the exception of a painting of a white dragon with red feathers, a new addition to the wall, The Great Nutu. I had dreamt about the dragon most nights since returning from the Amazon. There was an acoustic guitar in the corner and the sweet smell of baked goods coming from the oven, a bright pink apron hung on the wall beside the fridge.

"Cosy place you got" Lathain said taking a seat, he noted the bowl of fresh fruit on the table and reached out to grab an apple. A dark furred face leapt in front of him chattering angrily, snatching the apple from his surprised fingers before leaping away to the small sofa in the lounge, needle like teeth chattered incessantly, I'm pretty sure if I could speak Moin it wouldn't have been very nice.

"You still have the fur ball?" Lathain asked "What's his problem?" Torrin stared down at Lathain a moment

"You didn't ask" he grunted

"I didn't . . . ? Wait, are you telling me I need to ask permission from the fleabag before I take a piece of fruit?" Lathain asked me in disbelief, Torrin nodded. Lathain's ears dropped, I pulled an apple from the basket and gave it to Lathain, Mei-Juu's ears pricked up but he didn't interfere, Lathain took a bite, eyes closed in something close to ecstasy. "Damn that's good, the fresh stuff is hard to come by" he said, his mouth full of fruit "can't remember the last time I had an apple"

"In the amazon" I reminded him taking a seat "So why don't you tell me about this job?"

"Ah yes" he said leaning back and taking another bite "the facility, Pharma-tech, is one that used to be run by a legitimate pharmaceutical company, they were working on a series of drugs to help pregnant women who were having cross bred children" he said. Torrin's ears pricked at this and he moved to sit opposite "The research centre was set up by Kasai Corden, a rich billionaire who spent much of her time ten years ago fighting for equal rights for meta humans, particularly the grunge meta's"

Torrin growled low in his throat, as an Orc he was a sub class citizen, the term grunge was considered highly derogatory, in the same way that Nigger had been a black man slap across the face in the early twentieth century. Lathain being an elf was a more privileged Meta, flawless skin and a beautiful creature his kind had been instantly accepted into society, with none of the hardship that Torrin and his kind, the Orc's Trolls and Goblins had to face each day.

"Hey man, I'm just saying it as it is, didn't mean any offence by it" Lathain raised his hands, I hoped my face was less heated than it felt, Kasai Corden was my mother, before my step father had broken her she had been a fighter for rights for everyone, people looked up to her.

"So what happened with the facility?" I asked, curiosity taking over

"Well see it carried on running for a while, even after Kasai re-married, some legal mumbo jumbo about lease terms and the research being pre-paid up for five years kept it going, it introduced some baby formulas but nothing great. Then the new hubby got his claws into it, fired the staff and got them to set up a tech enterprise there, modified com units. The rumour is that the com unit division is a cover up for the pharmaceutical side, which is believed to be still running, except this time, they're doing the opposite; looking at ways to break the DNA chain, purify the species. The idea was to inject a half breed foetus and watch it convert to human"

"But that's impossible" I said, "why would the parents want that? And what about those who are other mixed breed, troll and Orc, elf and Troll?" the last one had particular significance Doc and Amm had just recently announced they were trying for another child.

"The drugs are suppose to remove whatever magic started the mutation process, regardless of the child's heritage a mixed bred child will be born human" Lathain said, I looked to Torrin in disbelief

"But they can't do that" I said "the parents can't possibly want that?"

"To be honest Ghost a lot of the people I've heard who have gone in for the treatment only wanted a child that would survive its first month" Lathain had a point, mix breeds had difficulty blending the anatomy of one parent with the other, elves and humans could have mixed bred children safely, but the rest? It usually ended in tragedy.

"So why the interest" Torrin asked "if this is to save the lives of unborn children why then would we want to interfere" part of me immediately wanted to rebuff him, to tell him not to mess with nature, but a part of me also knew he was right, a healthy child was better than the heart break of losing one.

"Glad you came on to that" Lathain said, he pulled a palm pad from his jacket, a selection of images flickered on the screen, screen shots from a grainy camera, some were of a hospital like environment, others showed a shocking scene of a large test tube, holding what looked to be an unborn child. "The process isn't just medicated, there's an operation required, and my client thinks they're swapping out the foetuses for human children"

My stomach churned at the thought "so what have the com company got to do with this?" I asked "it seems a far cry to go from com unit operations to full blown surgery"

"it is, unless you take into account that every com unit made in the last five years has been bugged" Lathain said "I'm still working on the "how" but the "why" for this place seems to be monitoring the conversations between mix breeders, once someone announces they're with child, or their intent to have children a contact shows up at their door, promising the ultimate gift. A healthy child. It's costly, most parents end up with nothing, owing everything to the company, a few lucky ones pay off the money but these are rare, the company then uses their debt as leverage for other operations"

"Other operations?"

"A seedy enterprise of slave labour, willingly entered into for the sake of a child" Lathain summed up

"How do the parents not know that this is happening to them?" Torrin asked

"Well the father is asked to "enjoy" some quality R&R whilst the process is going on, those who want to see the process can do so using the VR unit on the site, only the feed is a fake, it's got nothing to do with the operation, the father sees a few injections, some probing to check on the health of the baby, but nothing more, in reality the foetus is switched and a boat load of drugs are given to the mother to trick the body into accepting the strange entity"

I swallowed hard, not wanting to ask the next question, but needing to "what happens with the real child?" Lathain looked at me, his face a mix of emotions

"They conduct tests, they're using the children to test their original idea of creating an anti-mutagen" he looked to Torrin, "these guys need to be stopped, and I need help doing it"

"How did you find out about this?" I asked

"A . . . friend received a call from one of their team, they're a high end runner hacker, damn near as good as me, she hacked their system, purely out of habit" he paused a moment, as if deciding what he should say next. He was acutely aware of how intently I was listening, maybe he thought I was judging her "she doesn't trust many people" he offered by way of explanation. "What she found was the images you see here"

"This _friend_ " Torrin asked "did she ask you to help her? I want to be sure this isn't a trap" Torrin started, Lathain's jaw clenched, but his face remained calm

"She's dead" he said "they caught her and she's dead, she sent this to me just before . . ." he trailed off, fists tight and he turned away, Mei-Juu appeared on the table, his long body slowly moved towards Lathain, his ears down, he looked . . .sad, Lathain watched the sleek creature cross the wooden table to curl up on his lap. I expected him to push the small fur ball away, but instead he seemed to relax and idly stroked the black fur. Moin are creatures of dreams, they seek to soothe broken hearts and troubled minds, clearly Lathain was hurting or Mei-Juu would never have approached him.

"Mei-Juu is convinced, so I'm in" I said "Who else did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking a reunion" Lathain said "Firefly just got into town, Wizbit is around too and Lambast has some spare time on his hands" he looked to Torrin "I wouldn't mind an old school hacker too, their systems are pretty complex, but they're using 10 year old servers"

Torrin looked at me a moment "You'll need a worm" he said "to catch them in the act you need some bait"

"I was thinking Ghost could go in as our "expecting mother" Lathain said, Torrin shook his head

"No, you need someone who's the real deal, with so many life sensors around these days you can't afford a slip up" he looked at me coolly "We need the Doc"

2

Dianna Martin, known to those around her simply as "Doc" was a beautiful woman, half elf she had all the grace of her father, the blonde hair, the flawless complexion, with the soft brown eyes of her mother. She kept her hair short, proudly displaying the scarred and tattered remains of her ears which had once been peaked and beautiful, she had once told me that school children had pinned her down to cut them from her, simply because she was different. She kept them as a reminder as to what the world could be like, and that even through the bullying and fights and tough times she had risen above everything. The Doc owned a walk in clinic in an underground cellar, an old subway station which had been modified over several years to create a mini hospital. She kept as much of her work off the grid as she was able. The place was magically and mechanically warded to protect it from gangs and violence, it also covered it's presence from the mega corp. community. Though she didn't doubt for a moment that they knew she was there.

The clinic operated a singular policy "help for those who need helping" it didn't matter to the Doc if you were a criminal, a troll, human, orc or even a mega corp. millionaire who ended up on her doorstep. Those who could pay did, and those who couldn't agreed to help out with the various community centres around the district in exchange for medical help. Doc owned a dozen or so soup kitchens and "Hobo hostels" in the city, all needed manning and volunteers.

Unsurprisingly it was the meta humans who offered their help more readily than the humans, though it wouldn't be the first time we had the services of a once proud mega corp. man working the serving station of a kitchen, one man having lost his fortunes to a higher corporation, he now worked there full time and found something gratifying in the work that his previous life had left him void of.

The clinic and the kitchens pretty much summed up Doc, she was kind and she was loyal, and she treated everyone with respect, that didn't make her a fool though. If you lied to Doc you did so at your own risk, she could punch harder than a mule could kick and if she didn't deal with you then her husband certainly would.

Ammadeous, I still to this day don't know his full name, like Torrin he didn't carry one, probably never had in his life. Amm was the biggest troll I had ever met, huge and bulky; he had retired from running years ago, but had gone into training others instead. He was one of the oldest Meta humans I knew too, he was in his late eighties by his account, one of the first wave. He was also proof that Trolls and Orcs didn't have such a short life span if they could keep out of the way of bullets. He was a hitter, combat training and was for all intents and purposes a grandfather like figure to me, he had taken Torrin on board when he was young, and Torrin had taken me.

Doc and Amm couldn't be more different in their physical appearance, but they loved each other with a fire that I hadn't seen in anyone except my own parents. I felt a flutter of apprehension at what we were about to ask.

"So let me get this straight" Amm said, "You want to become pregnant with a fake child, and you want my wife to be the one to set you up for this crazy ass infiltration mission?" he shook his head in disbelief "you're both nuts"

"I've a way of making a woman look pregnant without there being a foetus" Doc said "it won't be enough under an ultrasound, but it will be enough to get you through the life sensors"

"That's not all" Torrin said, he looked down at me and hesitated a moment "We need DNA for the prospective father . . ." he scratched the back of his head "it can't be elven, Ghost is compatible, and it's got to be something that would cause breed sickness at the very least . . ."

Amm's brow furrowed hard as the gravity of the request sunk in. "You need my DNA" he stated matter of factly "And we're not using yours because?" there was a deep pause; Torrin looked nervously from me to Amm, not sure how to proceed with that. We had discussed who would donate their DNA for the transplant, Torrin had baulked immediately at the idea, he saw me as a daughter and it felt uncomfortable, the silence went on for what seemed an eternity before Amm decided to speak "I won't make you spell it out" Amm said pulling a cigar from his pocket "You can use mine"

"I appreciate it" Torrin said

"You're welcome" Amm said smiling as he lit a match "pixie puff" Torrin laughed at that

"What do you think you're doing?" Doc asked Amm, her tone dangerous. Amm's face fell as his wife pulled the cigar from his mouth and threw it in the trash can "You know the clinic rules" Beside her the baby monitor crackled to life, her daughter was awake and needed something. Amm rose to see to their daughter, a fragile thing, struggling to breathe, she should be nine months by now, but her growth had been severely affected by the mixed genes. Doc had been doing her own research into Breed sickness

"Doc?" I asked after Amm had left "What do you mean you can make someone _look_ pregnant?" Doc looked a little sheepish

"It's part of the walker code that you work only until you're pregnant, after that you're let off to raise the child" she said "The sleaze who pimp out their girls might seem hard on the outside, but they know if their "merchandise" gets injured or harmed then they refuse to work, that makes them less valuable. For a woman who claims she is pregnant you need to prove it, a test is needed and the guys, bent as they may be accept it" she sighed "The girls will then fake the miscarriage, allowing them some grieving time, all told it gets them off the street for about three months, sometimes that is long enough for them to find a different job, others . . . " she paused "I don't want you think ill of me Ghost, I don't condone their lifestyle choice any more than you do, but for some of these girls it's all they know and a three month break every few years helps them to cope with that choice"

"So what does this procedure do?" Lathain asked

"It changes the woman's body chemistry, produces sufficient hormone changes that morning sickness sets in, and a urine sample produces the gene effects to fake a standard pregnancy test, the womb lining can also be biopsied to give a positive reading on a DNA donor, but only if the test is conducted within forty eight hours of the drug being administered, to all intents and purposes your body believes it to be pregnant"

"How do the pimps not know this is happening?" I asked, "surely they would spot if a girl constantly miscarriages?"

"That's the beauty of the set up I have here Ghost, the pimps bring the girls in to me to have them checked over, I conduct the test and administer the drug for those that want it, any girl who is really pregnant I leave well alone, the pimps bring them to me so I can "slip" them a drug to _make_ them miscarry, those who are actually pregnant are considered too far along for the drug to work, the lords think they've caused the chaos, and allow the girls time to grieve so most think their employers aren't too bad, it works well enough and has done for a number of years now"

"So you tackle both sides" I mused "I have to say I'm mildly horrified, but glad someone is keeping an eye on them at least"

"Ghost dear, we'd better get you sorted, you're going to need a crash course in pregnancy" Doc said.

3

After much deliberation it was decided that Lathain would accompany me to the clinic as my husband, I would play the cheating wife caught in the act, but there would be recompense if I went through with the procedure, so to save my marriage there I was. It was the only way to get Lathain in the building.

Lambast and Firefly were to try and access the facility using the guise of pest control for the building next door, there was a potential to use some of the underground electric lines to get inside. Torrin created the fake I.D papers and SIM cards to get them on site. Wizbit would try another approach entirely and see about getting in via the upstairs Com unit branch, he'd be there for an interview, playing a few bugs in the network so that the team could hack the Com lab, and find out the names of victims, or the people who were running the operation; Lathain doubted very much if this was an isolated laboratory.

"Lathain?" I asked as I was coming out of prep with Doc, he was stood by a baby tank, young Kasai was inside, she was tiny, barely looking four months old, a pair of tiny horns protruding from her head she looked like an elf otherwise, her skin was pale and drawn, and she lacked the fat that healthy babies carried and her eyes were rimmed in the tell tale sign of breed sickness. "When she was born you could fit her in the palm of your hand" I told him, standing beside him. "She's my God daughter, Kasai"

"After Kasai Corden?" Lathain asked, he turned his head to me and I saw a sadness there that ate at me, I nodded

"Doc knew my . . . Mrs Corden" I changed quickly "before she remarried" I put my hand over his "Lathain? Who was the girl who asked you to help her?"

"She was suppose to be someone to have a little fun with" Lathain said "She wasn't supposed to . . . she called me a couple of weeks ago, told me she was pregnant, and that she thought the baby was mine . . ." he shook his head "no, not thought . . . she knew it was mine, _I_ knew it was mine, but she was . . . she'd been . . ."

"A walker?" I guessed "and you didn't believe her"

"I wanted to" he said, his voice heavy "I wanted to believe her, but I couldn't, I got scared Ghost, and I turned her away . . . it's all . . . it's all my fault, if I'd been there she might have gone to the Doc, she wouldn't have tried that awful place, she . . . " he pulled the palm pad from him pocket, on the screen was a picture of an female Orc, she was beautiful, her skin was flawless, a cool mint green, and two spiralled horns curled from her head, her black hair was streaked with red, mused around her as she lay across a bed, the sheets pulled over her for barest modesty. I hadn't expected Lathain to fall for an Orc, elves were notoriously guarded about their gene pool, half human elves were common, but there had yet to be a half breed elf with any other Meta.

"She's beautiful" I told him

"Yelena" he said "her name was Yelena" he reached into the baby tank and took hold of Kasai's hand "thank you Ghost" he said "Thanks for helping me" I saw a part of him then that I didn't think existed, fragile, almost human, and my heart melted.

"What are friends for" I said

4

"You'll feel queasy; you'll throw up, a lot." Doc warned as I settled into the chair, the syringe sat to one side ready, Doc paused. "Do you think that Torrin might be right about you going ahead with this?" she asked "You know you can't have children of your own and you're not exactly known for being close to people"

"It's all just an act" I said "I'm not really pregnant"

"But your body won't think that, your body will be telling you you're pregnant, it'll play hell with your hormones and your mind, it could unlock thoughts and feelings that you've kept hidden by yourself all this time, things you didn't think you'd need to think about" she took my hand in hers "Ghost this will feel very real to you, the compulsion of motherhood is a powerful thing, it makes us both stronger and weaker all at once, rationale goes out the window, you'll be confused, you'll long for a child and when the drug wears off you'll feel an emptiness that you might never think to fill"

She leant back in her chair and bit at her finger nails, her other hand playing with her pen, a nervous twitch. Doc was a heavy smoker, but she had given it up for Kasai whilst she was still in the incubator.

"I'm worried _for_ you Ghost" she admitted "and not just on an emotional level, physically this could open up some of your latent power, the amount of tech you came in with . . ."

"Zapped my magical potential, I know" I said "I figure that I'm not going to get much stronger in my magic than I am now, I'm learning a little more control so I don't over blow my spells as often but to be honest I don't think they're any stronger than they were when I started lessons from Hanson . . . ." I trailed off and we fell silent a moment as we remembered our lost friend. The cocky Texan had been killed on a job, a setup, from someone on the inside; I had seen the spray as the bullet took out his head and shuddered at the thought.

"Maybe I could modify the dose" Doc said "make it last less time, fake an earlier stage of the pregnancy" she tapped her teeth with her bitten nails. "ahhh . . ." she thought aloud "but then you're looking at the sensors potentially not working, you only have 48 hours at the most with what I have prepped for the DNA test. . ." she seemed tired, as if it was her emotional weight to carry and not mine "give me a day" she said "I'll see what I can do, and you can spend the time with Lathain, you'll need to work on your act"

5

"So Ghost" the giant grin that is Lathain appeared over the top of the com screen "do I get to kiss you?" I scowled at him "I mean, since we _are_ married we should act the part, all lovey dovey" he puckered his lips and I threw the stapler at him, annoyingly he dodged and his grin only broadened further.

"You're supposed to hate me" I told him "We're supposed to be at a critical moment in our marriage where I just cheated on you and you've decided to take me back only because _we_ could never get pregnant" I groaned at him "besides, since my internal fixtures are most definitely working I guess that means _you're_ the missing link in the chain" the grin dropped and he growled at me, clearly the idea that his manhood wasn't up to the task hit a soft spot.

"O.K so let's just say for a moment that I hate you, you don' think they would expect us to be a bit more . . . cosy?" A shadow fell over Lathain

""They'd expect your relationship to be strained and at breaking point" Torrin's voice boomed out "if anything cosy touching would give them cause to think something was wrong"

"Oh hey Tor" Lathain said, his grin back on and broader than ever "how'd you get on with the extra intel?"

"It's looking good" he told the elf "Wizbit is already in on his day trial to drop a few bugs in the system, so far their security is strong, but nothing I couldn't get through with time, he hasn't been detected yet" He flipped open a palm pad and displayed the screen. "It looks like they hold their research data on a separate system held in their labs, Wizbit can't get to it from where he is, so he's just sitting tight for now, figures if we can get access to this server and download the content we can get the place exposed and shut down, look" A series of blue prints lit up.

"So their lab is underground?" I asked

"What makes you say that?" Lathain asked

"Well Doc said that they'd need oxygen pumps, we already found out they don't take shipment of canisters so they have a pump line, which would be here" I said tapping the screen "Those lines don't go beyond the ground floor, only the basement and sub basement, that suggests the operating room is underground" Lathain pondered this a moment

"So what are these used for?" he asked, pointing out the lower rooms where the majority of the pipe work lead. "They wouldn't have that many operating theatres surely?" Torrin gave him a glance and cleared his throat

"If they're experimenting on the children they take out then where do you suppose they would keep them?" he asked. I paled as I thought about the reality of where we were going and the monsters we would be talking to in only a few hours. Tor tapped on the screen showing a camera freeze of what looked like the reception room "They offer an abortion service as well" he said "On the surface they offer this to expectant mothers who don't actually want their children" he grimaced "this is where the foetus's for the switch come from" he laid the palm pad on the table and moved to a larger monitor, bringing up numerous files for us to see. They were faces, faces of women who had been to the clinic, beside each was a number and a corresponding face, usually a meta human, orc, troll, elf, all were women.

"These are the donors and their paired recipients" Lathain guessed

"Exactly" Torrin said for a moment I briefly saw a flash of a face on the screen I thought I recognised, Yelena. Lathain paused the footage; Yelena was standing in reception on the camera. So she _had_ gone to the clinic, my heart pained for Lathain "She walks in, but she never leaves" Torrin supplied at Lathain's questioning glance "I put her full file in here" he slid a data stick across the table "I haven't looked, I figured you'd want to make your peace alone"

Lathain nodded and took the stick, "I appreciate it"

"What about our underground way in from next door idea?" I asked changing the subject

"Well that is a little trickier" Torrin said "it looks like with all this underground facility we'll be hard pressed to break our way in without being seen"

"We could still use it as a backup for getting out though?" I asked

"Yeah if you were desperate, Lambast has told me he's willing to wait for just such an eventuality"

"What about the rest of the facility?" Lathain asked "What kind of security have we got?"

"Lots of guards" Torrin tapped and a new screen came up, showing several offices, the labs with various pathways laid out in red, often crisscrossing "They take regular rounds but they mix up their sweeps, all personnel have to carry badges that are scanned along with retina scanners, even visitors.

Lathain mused a moment "So we can't anticipate which way the guards are going to go next, and whilst I can probably hack a scanner or badge I'd be buggered on a retina scan" he sighed "OK, so having Lambast as a blaster back up isn't such a bad idea, looks like Wizbit is our only safe bet for moving around, other than where our visitor badges will allow" he tapped his fingers against his chin, thinking

"You're wondering if it's still a good idea?" Torrin asked, Lathain shook his head

"We're doing this" he said

We were all in agreement

6

I felt stupid as Torrin walked in on me; I was sitting upside down on the sofa at the clinic, my legs over the head rest with my hair on the floor. Doc had recommended lying with my legs up to help the serum spread to all the areas it was needed for the biopsy. I still didn't know how they could tell the DNA of a father if the "child" was only a small collection of cells, technically there didn't seem to be anything big enough to take a biopsy of

"They're not taking a sample of actual DNA", Doc had told me, "they're looking at the astral signature of the womb" I hadn't really understood the process in its entirety, however the basic premise was that all humans and meta humans carried a base level of an aura that was readable to the species. This aura was given off in every strand of DNA in our bodies. The biopsy was to take a sample of womb lining and a sample of the mother's DNA from a blood sample, the sample would then be applied to a filter which would remove the astral signature of the mother and analyse the remaining aura for a species. Apparently this was required to assist the doctors in determining the feed type to use, the sequencing for the "change"

"The reality is that they're probably doing a complete DNA check so that they can manipulate the child's DNA that they implant to have features of the parents" Doc explained

"You mean like a bone marrow donor?" I asked, Doc laughed at me

"You remember the weirdest things" she said "Yes, a person who receives bone marrow, if their own cells are too badly damaged to synthesis their own will for a short time carry the DNA of the donor"

Torrin was giving me a questioning look, from the strange seating, or the awkward ten minute pause I wasn't sure, I shrugged and shot him a "what you looking at?" glance, he simply shrugged back and carried on

Lathain sauntered through the door, followed closely by Wizbit who had just finished his first "official" day of work, they both paused a second but didn't ask any questions aloud. I swung my legs around and sat upright, pulling my hair from my face where it had fallen, Wizbit wandered to the table and grabbed a piece of fruit, Mei-Juu chattered but didn't attack him, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Lathain

"Flea bag" he muttered, I laughed

Wizbit took a seat on one of the kitchen chairs, pulling off his office blazer and undoing his cuffs. The suit looked good on him, I was used to seeing him in runners gear, but the soft look was a good one, he looked . . . handsome, I suppose was the word I was looking for. I watched him, somewhat mesmerised as he rolled up first one sleeve, then the next followed by his tie, unbuttoning his top two shirt buttons. He looked like any normal man and for a moment I forgot that he was a powerful mage

"Ghost . . ." I heard my name being called, snapping back to the here and now, Torrin was looking at me oddly "you with us?"

"Sorry, my head felt a little flush from being upside down" I said, Lathain shrugged, Wizbit didn't comment but Torrin looked decidedly uncomfortable for a moment, a brief look up at Wizbit told me he knew what I had really been concentrating on. For some reason this made me feel like I had been caught out doing something that perhaps I shouldn't be doing, I felt my face heat a little.

"I was just saying that we're all set to go in the morning" Torrin said "You know what you've got to do"

"I know" I said "I go in, get my appointment whilst you lot run around finding this server. Lathain and I are the distraction. Once I get the all clear I leave and lift a personnel card whilst I'm leaving" I pulled my hair back into a ponytail "The card goes to Lathain who comes back later to assist with the download" I'm in and out in less than an hour, at least that's what we were hoping for.

Whilst I would essentially be carrying a _child_ for the next few days I had been warned that my hormone levels would make me somewhat erratic. As a result I was to be the bait, nothing more. That suited me just fine; already I could feel the changes in my body. My breasts already started to feel heavy, though there would be no lactation. There was a slight twinge to my back as well and my stomach was a little fluttery. Doc had warned these symptoms may only get worse over the next few days and that my stomach flutters could potentially be full blown morning sickness.

"Are you alright?" Wizbit asked "You look a little pale" he sounded concerned, I waved him off

"It's just the procedure, I'll be a tad delicate for a few days, but otherwise I'll be alright, besides, it needs to be believable" I said. I made my excuses and went upstairs to bed. I slipped on a vest top and applied tanning oil to my skin, a wooden band around my ring finger. The ploy had been Wizbit's idea. Once the lotion was dry it was buffed off, removing the ring I was presented with a slight, but noticeable pale band around my finger, as if I had been married for a while. The fluttering in my stomach increased and I slid beneath the covers of the bed. Something told me I wouldn't have the best night's sleep.

7

My alarm went off at 7. My suspicions had proven to be correct; I had woken up in the middle of the night feeling bloated, cramped and bizarrely crying, though I would not have been able to tell you why. I padded downstairs; voices in the kitchen told me Torrin was already up.

Lathain was there too, already dressed in shirt and trousers, almost completely devoid of his running gear, were it not for the cranial implant he would look like any other elf, though his unusually cropped short hair already made him stand out.

"Morning honey" he said smiling. He handed me a glass of orange juice, I took it willingly but the moment the fruit juice hit my lips my stomach clenched up. I managed to avoid throwing up but it was not a great feeling.

Torrin dropped a small red velvet box on the table; the velvet was worn, as though the box had been held often over the years

"Make sure you bring that back" he grunted

I opened the box to find a small ring inside, a bright silver band with a dark green stone set in centre stage, the band on meeting the stone waved and split. A wedding ring

I slid the ring onto my left hand, the fitting surprisingly comfortable; it covered my pale band nicely, the ring fitting enough to look like it belonged there "Tor it's beautiful, where did you get it?" I asked looking up, he shifted on his feet and said nothing, not daring to meet my eyes. I left him to it and decided not to press the issue

"If we set off soon we can make the 8 o clock tram into town" Lathain said, I nodded and went upstairs to change, plain jeans and a long sleeved jersey. My long red hair pulled up in a high ponytail, the shorter strands which never seemed to stay put framed my face. I wore simple boots, the never really wore fashionable shoes, instead opting for ones that I could run or fight in, however this time I was suppose to look as unassuming and fragile as possible.

My stomach lurched again and I wondered if I would be able to make it to the clinic without throwing up. I pulled a rolled paper bag from a drawer and stuffed it in my back pocket, just in case.

8

It was weird travelling through town on the tram. It was crowded, so many people jostling for a hold on the bars, or one of the few precious seats. Lathain sensed my discomfort being around so many people and tried to shield me as much as he was able. Unfortunately the swaying motion of the tram did not help my delicate stomach, alighting at our designated spot I was quick to find the nearest public convenience and become re-acquainted with my breakfast . . .

"You know you actually look rather beautiful" Lathain said as I came out of the ladies "I can see why they say pregnant women have a _glow_ about them" I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not, so opted for a tired smile instead.

Pharma-tech was situated just south of the main part of the city, the clinic doors pulled aside as we approached leading in to a white walled reception room, pale blue chairs lined the walls and the customary green fern was added to give a less clinical look to the place. Soft music hummed through a small set of speakers set into the wall and the scent of vanilla hung, trying to mask the disinfectant that clung to the air. Behind the reception counter sat a human woman, mid forties she was brightly dressed in the pastel landscape, she smiled warmly as we approached

"Good morning" she said as brightly as her blouse "Welcome to Pharma-tech, how may I help you?" I looked to Lathain for guidance, I wasn't used to people being so chipper, it was somewhat unsettling. Lathain gave the receptionist his 100 watt smile

"Good morning" he said "My wife and I have an appointment to see the clinician" the receptionist visibly swooned at Lathain's charm, barely looking away as she typed in our details, she was lucky that we weren't a real couple, the "wife" in me would otherwise be very jealous

"Dr Rahana will see you now" she said, sliding a portable palm pad across the desk for us to fill in. Lathain slipped me the pad and I started to type in the essentials. Age, weight, height etc.

A door to our left opened and a man in a lab coat stood in the doorway

"Mr and Mrs Elkin?" he enquired, I smiled nervously as he gestured that we step through the door. I was surprised to find the doorway was actually for a set of stairs which ran downwards, it looked as though the whole clinic was run from the basement level. Lathain placed a guiding hand in the small of my back, instinct at an unfamiliar touch made me seize a moment, before heading down the stairs.

The level below was well lit, and were it not for the lack of windows you would think you were above ground, we were led into a small examination room, a trolley bed covered in disposable blue paper sat in the corner, the doctor indicated I should sit on the bed, Lathain took up a chair.

"So Mrs Elkin, I have a brief bio on your condition and some of the circumstances on why you're here from your husband, but if you wouldn't mind explaining in your own words? That way I can be sure this is a mutual request" the doctor took a seat in a chair by a large com screen, tech pen at the ready to take notes, I paused not sure on where to start.

"Mrs Elkin, if you're bothered about my knowing of the affair, I can assure you that you are not the only couple to come to us in such a circumstance, nor are you likely to be the last and given your behaviour on your way down here you're obviously embarrassed, I'd like to put any fears and those feelings to rest" he sat back "perhaps I should start?" he offered, I nodded numbly, the doctor had a soft and calm voice, unlike Doc who was often grumbling and sharp, Doctor Rahana sounded much more relaxed and at ease. "Mrs Elkin, may I call you by your first name Amelia?"

"Amy" I said quietly "Just Amy is fine" I told him, I certainly sounded nervous, I wasn't sure how much of the sound was down to acting, or how much was due to my nerves, if the test didn't work we'd be busted

"Well now Amy, if I can ask the breed of the father?" I glanced to Lathain who nodded in encouragement

"Troll" I said quietly, the Dr took notes

"And the age of the father?" I hadn't anticipated that, I had no idea how old Amm was, or if it made much of a difference to the test, he must have seen my discomfort as he simply smiled "alright, it's not usually important, we can leave that one for now" he asked other questions, how far along I thought I was, had I taken any drugs since finding out, was I a user of any non-prescribed medication, history of illness etc. I answered them all as honestly as my alias allowed of me, the Dr then turned to Lathain

"Mr Elkin, I have it on good authority that should we go through with the procedure that this would save your marriage?" he looked at me then, the first time his eyes had given away any sign of contempt "Whilst there is a high success rate with this procedure it is still very much in the experimental trials, we cannot guarantee that the child will survive, nor can we promise that such a procedure will fix any wayward emotions from your wife"

"I realise that Doctor . . ." Lathain began, not entirely sure why this comment had come up

"I'm simply making you aware Mr Elkin, there have been couples who have come to us to complete the same procedure then tried to sue for damages that their marriage did not resolve itself" he turned to encompass both of us in that moment "there is risk in the procedure, to both your personal life and to the life of your wife and the child you will be adopting"

"But Doctor I thought that it would be my child in the end, aren't you using my DNA?" Lathain asked

The doctor grimaced a little "Unfortunately the procedure has limited success when the child is from troll descent, the complexity in the genes is greater and so there is more that can go wrong, in cases such as this we would have to use the mother's DNA as both parental strains, the child in essence would be human" Lathain looked at me, this was very much like confirmation that they were trying to purge the meta human races, the Doctor mistook the look for something else "If you're unwilling to raise a child that is human Mr Elkin then perhaps I could recommend an abortion clinic?" he looked at me "whilst I don't usually condone abortion Mrs Elkin . . ." back to the formal address "in the interest of the health of your unborn child breed sickness is a terrible trauma in a troll human mix, abortion would be the lesser of two evils"

Lathain blew through his teeth in thought, then nodded "I guess if my wife is okay with going ahead with this, then I can be a man and raise the child, _our child_ " he corrected

"You're a good sport Mr Elkin" Dr Rahana said with a smile "Now Amy, if you wouldn't mind de-robbing, I will need to take a small sample of tissue to assist in the procedure" he gave me a warm smile, I paled realising that Lathain would see me naked! I hadn't thought of that before, my face flushed red "I assure you Mrs Elkin I am a professional, though if you would prefer the sample be taken by one of our nurses?" Lathain caught the plea in my eyes, hastily thinking up an excuse

"Actually that might be a good idea doctor, perhaps you can answer some questions for me outside whilst my wife is having her swab taken?" The doctor smiled and comm'd a young nurse to the room. Though she was young she seemed very distant, and rather cold towards Dr Rahana, the Doctor gave her instructions and then was guided from the room by Lathain

"If you could remove your trousers and underwear Miss" the nurse said, I did as I was told and laid back on the chair, the nurse applied a small amount of gel to a plastic speculum, her movements quick and clinical. "I just need to take a camera shot of the wall lining from where I take the sample" she said. She pulled a small probe from a drawer and pulled it from its sterile pack "This is a small mounted camera, it won't hurt a bit, but it might be slightly uncomfortable" she explained.

I closed my eyes as she inserted the speculum, using the device to open me up, I had never felt so exposed, I felt hot and flushed, both from the high dose of hormones and the embarrassment, the camera went next, snaking its way inside me, I had to hold my breath to stop myself clamping my legs together, I was sweating hard now

Calm . . . I thought to myself, try and stay calm, it's only for a moment

The nurse beside me gave me a twisted smile; as if she wanted to provide a measure of comfort and either didn't know how or was aware that I was here as an adulterer, she looked conflicted. I heard the snap onscreen as she took an image and then, whilst maintaining the camera's position she inserted what looked like a strange pair of scissors.

"Deep breath in three, two, one" she said, at the next moment I felt a sharp tug deep inside me as she punched a biopsy sample about the size of a peanut from my cervix. She pulled the sample free and placed it in a small jar, I clamped my eyes shut again as she removed first the camera and then the speculum, she handed me some paper towel and an absorbent pad "you might spot a little from the sample" she explained, she then binned everything bar the sample pot, scribbled a note and got up to leave.

I scrabbled to get dressed before Lathain and the doctor came back, shuddering.

"Mrs Elkin, I trust that wasn't too traumatic for you?" Dr Rahana said re-entering, he spent a moment looking at the notes taken by the nurse and the photograph, Lathain only a moment or two behind looked over his shoulder curiously, and I rearranged the hem of my top, feeling awkward before I finally nodded. "well Mrs Elkin the testing should only take a few hours, then we can bring you back in, might I suggest going for a spot of tea, though please don't eat anything until after your procedure" I sat upright at that

"We're doing this today?" I asked "I thought I'd be coming back tomorrow, or the day after?" I looked to Lathain who seemed also a little surprised

"We could, but we have a fresh batch of serum already in the lab, if we waited it might not take quite so well" he said "I often find too that you're best making this move quickly, before you change your mind, your lining seems to indicate you're not as far along as you thought, so the quicker we react the easier the transition will be" he said smiling, _lining seems to indicate?_ We hadn't planned on the picture, could he see something that we didn't want him to?

I realised I was staring, and quickly regained my composure, nodding in agreement

"Excellent" he said "we'll comm. you when we're ready for you" he said, he held out a hand, "Until then Mrs Elkin" I shook the hand, it was surprisingly cold to the touch, and then allowed myself to be led back upstairs.

9

"So how was the examination?" Lathain asked me as we sat at a nearby coffee shop, I shuddered and pulled my cardigan closer around me to ward off the phantom chill I felt creeping up "That bad huh?" He asked, he sighed and put his empty coffee cup down. "Look I don't know enough about your past, but you seem to be taking on a lot of personal demons for this case" he levelled his green eyes at me "Have I asked too much of you?" I felt my face heat and flush, if only he knew

"Look, my demons aside you need to bring these guys down" I told him "What they're doing is wrong, they take advantage of suffering parents and twist their hopes into something darker" Lathain ran his fingers around the edge of his cup, musing

"What if we're wrong about it all Ghost?" he asked "These people come looking for a healthy child, the child they get is healthy, it just isn't theirs" His green eyes settled on a point in the far land that I couldn't see, he'd lost his usual fight

"Look, we can pull the plug if you want to, but you're forgetting one thing here" I told him "These people are at the very least murderers, they're killing children, even if they are giving others new life, what gives them the right to take those lives in the first place. They're playing God. And think of Yelena" Lathain winced "She wasn't suppose to die, if they were legitimate and good as they advertise they would never have had her killed" Lathain closed his eyes, tired and drawn from the emotional weight

"You're right you know" he said softly "Thank you" I smiled as kindly as I could before the muscles in my stomach cramped, I mumbled a quick excuse and bolted for the bathroom.

When I got back to the table my seat was occupied, Firefly sat there talking with Lathain. I had met Firefly in the jungle of the Amazon, originally hired as a guide and protection in unfamiliar territory he had decided to follow us home. The huge Orc was a walking tank, his dark green skin criss-crossed with scars and other injuries, matched only by the breast plate armour he always wore. Today however he wore pest control overalls, part of his cover for access to the building beside the Pharma-tech unit.

". . . Going ahead a little early could leave you both vulnerable" Firefly was explaining, he paused and looked up at me " _Florzinha_!" _little flower_ he exclaimed brightly "you look lovely young one, are you well?" he rose and pulled me into an awkward hug

"I'm delicate at the moment" I mumbled, Lathain gave me a questioning look "I'm fine" I reassured him, feeling worse than I had imagined, but tolerable.

"So Lathain tells me you plan to go ahead early?" Firefly said "How do you propose to do that if you are not really with child?" Lathain and I had been discussing just such an issue.

"Lathain didn't spend quite enough time in the building to remote access the server, so we need to go back in regardless" I explained "Wizbit is going to bring us the codes for the main server, that should jump start Lathain's next attempt"

"So what will you be doing at this time?" Firefly asked me "You are not really with child; you cannot go through with the procedure"

"I know" Lathain interjected "Ghost is going to prep, but then get second thoughts and back out, we were told she could do that right up until they put her under"

"We only need to be in the building for fifteen minutes for Lathain to gather the data he needs, if we're lucky we won't even need to leave reception" I explained, Firefly shrugged and leant back in his chair, which creaked ominously under his weight "After we have the info we need and the evidence we'll be able to go to the Dragons to shut this down" Firefly laughed gruffly

"You will take this to the Dragons?" he asked "that's some serious fire power you want to play with" he looked Lathain dead in the eyes, yellow meeting green "What if they are part of this?" he asked

"Then we die" Lathain said nonchalantly "This doesn't strike me as Dragon ruling though, they've invested heavily in looking for a cure into breed sickness" Firefly simply grunted again, then rose from his seat, stretching as he went. The room suddenly felt a lot smaller with him stood there.

"I'll be waiting for your call, just in case" he said he turned to me "be careful _pequeno_ " he told me. I assured him I would be especially careful.

10

It was around 2 in the afternoon when Lathain got the call for us to return back to the clinic, rather than sitting in the reception to be seen we were greeted at the door and ushered to the clinic downstairs. Lathain, still waiting on Wizbit to comm. the codes was visibly unnerved

A young nurse took my arm and gestured to a small office; I was a little confused and asked what was happening

"you'll have to excuse us Mrs Elkin, but part of our policy is to interview the mother alone prior to the procedure" Dr Rahana explained, he looked across to Lathain "not to infer that you are in the same situation here, however we have a lot of young women who are brought here against their will and coerced into the operation. Once we've asked a few questions then you can be re-united before the procedure for a moment" he smiled, the smile blank and lacking the warmth of earlier "Oh course you understand for hygiene reasons we cannot let you into the operating theatre, but you're welcome to watch the whole event through our monitors" he let his smile fade then gestured to me towards a door on the left. "Mrs Elkin?"

I looked to Lathain, feeling uneasy. Lathain nodded slightly, his eyes telling me he was still waiting on Wizbit, damn it where was that guy? Without those codes we were wasting our time, I wasn't sure how long I could stall the procedure, the clinic officials seemed pretty eager to conduct the procedure today. I walked to the door and was led inside, Lathain looking worried over my shoulder.

The door led down a corridor, at the end of which was a clinician's chamber, much like the one I had been in earlier. I was asked to sit upon the bed, laid out with its disposable blue sheeting. Dr Rahana sat at a small comm. screen and typed away merrily for a moment in silence. As I looked about I felt how quiet the place seemed, it was bright, all white walls and stainless steel, the only colour in the room was the blue paper sheeting.

"I wondered if I might take your blood pressure" Dr Rahana asked "I'll need to give you an injection as well" he said smiling the same empty smile from earlier

"What kind of injection?" I asked curiously

"Oh nothing much, it's just something to prevent you from being sick during the operation, its harmless, though it does contain some sugars to keep energy levels up . . ." he trailed off and looked at the screen, "though it says here that you're not diabetic, so that should be fine for you"

"What if I don't want to go through with the procedure?" I asked, I thought that if I get the idea that I was having second thoughts in the doctor's mind now then it wouldn't be such a far cry when I flipped in the O.R later

"Oh its only to stop you feeling sick Mrs Elkin" Dr Rahana smiled again "though if you are going through with the procedure it needs a minimum of an hour to settle in your system, so if the op is to be done today I need to give it to you now, if you decide not to go through with things then at least you'll have a better time with your morning sickness for a few hours" he clapped his hands together joyously "so shall we proceed?"

At that moment my stomach turned, reminding me I might need to hurl, the prospect of the morning sickness being abated in the event of a quick getaway being required actually didn't sound half bad. I nodded glumly, the Doctor smiles his empty smile again and moved to a small cabinet to prepare the solution.

"You know Mrs Elkin I have to ask the following questions of you, some of them may be very personal and may cause you some distress" he pulled the needle to take a measure of a milky liquid "You realise that the questions are required to ensure that we have all of the facts, it's not that we want to ask them per se, more that we need to" he moved across towards me with the needle prepped, a small wipe of an alcohol swab on my arm "This will just prick a little" he said as he administered the injection. He gave another smile and walked to the computer where he made a note of the time on his comm. screen. I began to wonder how long I could draw these questions out to give Lathain time to get the codes from Wizbit.

"How long do you think we'll be in here Doctor?" I asked curiously

"Oh shouldn't be long" he replied, he checked his watch again and moved to take a seat beside me. "Now, can you tell me, have you ever had any implants Mrs Elkin? Comm. units or cosmetic implants?"

"N . . . " I nearly replied off the cuff, no I didn't have any implants, but I used to, my hand automatically went to the nape of my neck, fingers tracing a small scar there which was all that was left of my prior tech gear. "I used to, a long time ago, but it was removed" I told him

"Could you describe them for me?" I didn't wanted to elaborate too much, so merely stated the comm. unit and a small cosmetic function, Dr Rahana typed into his comm. pad at my answers "And I take it these were removed to try and assist in your magical abilities?" _how had he known about that?!_

My mind raced for a moment, _how could he know I was a mage?_ The question must have either been anticipated or written on my face as the doctor smiled apologetically and raised a soft eyebrow "our testing can distinguish between human and mage Ms Elkin" he explained, the eyebrow raised further "Is you husband aware?" he asked "aware of your magic?" he tapped into the comm. and checked his watch again, his toe tapped a rhythm only he could hear and I started to get the impression that _he_ was the one stalling.

"He has his suspicions" I said, trying to make an excuse to cover up my obvious surprise

"I see, and Mrs Elkin, could you confirm for me just how long ago it was that your implants were removed?" I mumbled honestly, briefly flashing back to the night in the rain six years ago when Torrin had found me. I looked down at my hand, I had been leaning back on it as I sat on the bed, it felt numb, I sat upright and tried to flex my fingers and get the blood going again.

The Doctor checked his watch again and eyed me with a look of concern "Is everything alright Mrs Elkin?" he asked rising from his seat "Perhaps you should lie back whilst I take a look at you?" he suggested

"I'm sorry, I feel funny" I told him, the numb feeling in my hand was spreading through my arm, the feeling of queasiness rolled around my stomach again.

"Probably just a reaction to the injection Ms Corden, nothing I can't fix, please lie back and I'll administer the counter serum" My body stiffened, I rolled off the bed to the other side, placing the bed between me and the Doctor

"What did you just call me?" I asked, aware that the numbing feeling was spreading to my legs; Dr Rahana regarded me with a mixture of sympathy and malice

"I'm sorry Miss Corden, but our employer would really like to speak with you, you've been in hiding for a long time" he looked at me as my left leg began shaking "I'm sorry for the illusion, but it was necessary for me to get you away from your companion, I'm a Doctor you see, if he knew who you really were we'd have to kill him, and I'd rather not do that" the Doctor's face became blurry and I blinked hard to clear my vision

"What did you give me?" I asked, trying to edge on jelly like legs to the door

"A sedative, it won't harm you, but it will make it harder to fight me I'm not one for violence" he said rather loftily, my stomach churned hard again

"That's rich" I spat "Given the experiments you're running here" I tried to pull my magic to me, maybe get my magic to heal me from the effects of the shot, but my inexperience prevented me from making any progress, just a few more feet and I'd be within reach of the door, I needed to get in touch with Lathain

"About that, you'll find we're giving life to young babies who would otherwise not be born, we're weeding out the imperfections so to speak" Dr Rahana said, as though his words could bring me around. "Ms Corden, you really should sit down" he persisted

"Go to hell" I hissed before passing out.

11

My first indicator that something was wrong was when the nurse led me to a small room opposite the one I had watched Ghost enter, inside was a table and two chairs, there were no screens, no old school posters with relative body parts shown. Everything was white walled with chrome table and chairs; there was no music here either. My immediate thought was that it looked like an interrogation cell. A thought that was confirmed when the door firmly shut behind me and the alarm sensor in my comm. unit went off. My link to the matrix had been cut!

 _Stay calm_ , I told myself, _if you act rashly you might give the game away_. Of course they could already know what we were up to, but they might also have put me here out of the way as they questioned my _wife_. I turned calmly and turned the door handle. Locked. Now I knew we were in trouble.

I glanced around the room again, hoping to see something I could use. The walls gave me nothing, and the table on inspection was as simple and plain as it looked. I fiddled with a chair, finding nothing of use and turned my attention upwards.

The ceiling of the room was made of flexi tiles, roughly a meter square each they sat in metal runners that formed the grid above my head; most government buildings had these types of ceilings. I jumped on the table, my fingertips too short to reach the tiles without jumping, but I didn't want to make a noise, I pulled up a chair onto the table and stood on that, now with ample height I lifted the ceiling tile above me cautiously. Inside my head I heard the soft beep that indicated a matrix signal, the space above me was small and dusty, but I could fit. I slid the tile aside after checking for sensors then stepped down from the ceiling. I placed the chair back on the floor before lightly jumping up to grab the edge of the opening. It was a simple trick but it might buy me a few seconds of them wondering where I'd gone if there wasn't evidence that I'd gone skywards. I crawled into the loft space and gently replaced the tile.

Had I been a human any larger than Ghost I doubted I would have been able to crawl along the ceiling, the tiles were weak and for once I felt blessed that my elf blood kept me physically light and flexible. I scanned the area for nodes, but found none out of the ordinary, assuming it was safe to send a call I pinged Wizbit.

"Hey Lathain, you went off line for a few minutes, are you OK?" Wizbit's calm voice floated around my head

"Peachy, listen mate, we've been caught, I've been locked in a room, no idea if Ghost is O.K but you need to make a hasty exit, they might know about the whole op so your cover may be compromised" I told him

"I'm less than a minute from breaking in, do you still want the codes?" he asked

I paused, without the codes we couldn't hack the data, without the data we would have to start from scratch and we were known to them now, which would mean re-infiltration would be near impossible. "Stay as long as you feel you can" I told him "If they make any move on you then you get out by any means" I told him. Wizbit grunted his acceptance and went off line

My next problem was what to do about Ghost. Her alibi as far as I could tell was solid; I had spent all day yesterday trying to scan her papers and data info to find a flaw. Torrin seriously knew how to make a genuine looking ID trail. I checked my comm.; we'd been separated nearly seven minutes. I wasn't sure if she'd know something was wrong yet. I cursed at her unwillingness to carry a comm. device as I had no way of knowing where she was or if she was alright. I briefly remembered our stint in the Amazon, so felt a little confident she could handle herself.

"Firefly, you there?" I buzzed

"S'up" came the reply

"We're compromised here, if we needed it then how long would it take for you to bust the wall down?" I asked

"Lambast says about 10 minutes, give or take, depending on how loud we're allowed to be" Firefly said, then laughed "Lambast says he's enough juice to pop a hole for half the staff if you need it, should take forty five seconds, but it's a last resort"

"I'm all about last resorts" I told him "Prep it, but don't trigger till I give the word" I comm'd out and looked about me; I couldn't stay where I was, but I needed to find Ghost and get her out of here. I moved along the ceiling tiles, traversing the aid ducting in roughly the direction they had taken Ghost, my ears pricked for signs that she was around. I was about to look for a way down when Wizbit buzzed

"Got them" he said pinging me a file across "but you need to act quickly, the IT manager and director are talking in the office, sounds like they know someone's about to try a hack, those codes will be useless to you if you don't move now" he said

"Duly noted" I shut off and loaded the files into my internal net. I scanned for a nearby node; anyone would do, so long as it was attached to the main server bank. I hit send and watched the transfer icon flash up for a nano second before completing the transfer. The virus would download every scrap of data and send it to my private server. If they stopped the transfer or found my server address then I deserved to be caught. That done I looked around me, seeing a slight sign of light in the corner I moved towards it, hoping for a grid vent that I could see through to get my bearings.

Below me a large laboratory stretched, this looked bigger than the plans we had obtained, stretching out well beyond the buildings upper floor perimeter. My blood froze as I looked at the large tubes and columns suspended around the room, human men and women in white coats and clip boards worked at various stations or checked the content of vials and tubes.

The tubes, or bio pods were not empty, inside was a thick green liquid, in which floated a foetus. Varying babies of different ages in different size tubes. Some were mix breed; others were too early in the development to be able to tell. Some were hooked up to tubes and heart monitors whilst others simply floated in their tanks.

I took photographs on my comm. as many as I could take my heart in my throat as I zoomed to picture the innocent lives that these monsters were playing with.

A young woman rolled a stainless steel table along the floor and to the workstation beneath where I was hidden. On the table lay a tray covered by a white cloth, the cloth soaked in green fluid and red, which I could only assume was blood. The woman's palm pad clear for me to see, I hit record on my comm.

"Subject 237d" the woman's voice floated into a small Dictaphone "unusual breed of interest, subject parentage is not in our database, neither donor had suitable SIM information" that immediately peaked my interest, SIM's were compulsory in this country, DNA was your everyday fingerprint there was no longer any hiding who you were, not having a SIM was as dodgy as it came. Runners carried fake SIM; illegal immigrants even carried bogus ID.

The woman continued to comment on physiological characteristics, many of which I didn't understand, but some of them sounded all too familiar

"Subject's paternal genes are dominating maternal genome, subject would appear more Elf than Orc, gene for tusks appears to be missing, baby would inherit father's appearance" the woman tapped away at her palm pad. Elf and orc, it couldn't be . . .

"Subject shows suitable framework for continued development, embryo did not survive transfer, remains kept for further study. Mother's womb also removed for further study as well as brain, lymph node and thyroid glands. Sufficient blood samples also taken to further study" the palm pad showed up the face I had been praying would not be there.

Yelena

12

The image showed Yelena laid out on a stainless steel table, her lofty black hair splayed around her, only a white sheet to cover her green skin.

"Facial reconstruction completed, results show passable meta human though uncertain as to whether pigment genes may activate later in foetal development" the damned woman just kept talking, a second image displayed, I felt a shudder and my heart beat faster as I beheld that image. A young boy, aged around ten, at first he appeared to be elf, were it not for the black hair and slight green shade to his skin. He was beautiful.

I glanced down, my hands were wet and I realised tears had been flowing from my eyes. The image, the boy on the screen, he was my son.

"Subject appears to be a key to develop a stop gap for removing grunge Meta from the genome" the woman switched off her palm pad and lifted the tray. She opened a cabinet beneath me where I could not see and deposited the remains in there. She took a large jar from the same location, placing it on the table, a weird organ floated in solution. I watched, disbelief and rage rising as the laboratory assistant took a syringe and pulled a long sample of fluid from the jar.

"Maternal thyroid sample to go for analysis" she stated before packing up the rest of the jar and returning it to the cabinet. She then packed the syringe sample into a box lined with Styrofoam, applied a label then walked away.

I felt my body heat and flare in anger, the casual dismissal of Yelena and our child, the experiments.

These people were _monsters_

I moved away from the vent, searching for a space that I could climb down without being seen

"Wizbit" I comm'd "you still in the building?"

"Not anymore, no, but I can get in if you need me to, my boss thinks I'm nipping for coffee" he replied, he paused sensing the tone of my voice "What do you need me to do?" he said, serious and ready

"I want you to hook up with Lambast and Firefly" I told him "Lambast has some pretty hefty explosives, I'm going to need them" I told him "We're going to destroy this place, I want it turned to rubble"

"Wow, I guess you found what you were looking for then" Wizbit said "We'll map this place for weak spots, you'll need to be out before we start setting things off"

"I'm going to find Ghost then we'll be out" I said. I switched off the comm. and checked the time, Ghost and I had been separated for nearly half an hour, she would know something was wrong by now, and given how quiet it was that was not a good sign, she'd be fighting by now. I looked around carefully, ears pricked. But there was nothing, no sign of commotion anywhere. I had a bad feeling about this.

I found a corner of the large lab near some hangers that I could drop behind; I lifted the grate and slide silently down. I couldn't reach to pull the grate back into place behind me so left it, hoping the corner was inconspicuous enough to not draw attention. On the hangers were a range of lab coats, white, navy and purple. The people I had seen in this area all wore white, I tugged on from a hanger, pausing a moment to take a purple one too. There were fewer of these and it might come in handy, I slipped the purple coat on then pulled a white one over the top, tucking the purple sleeves and collar as best I could beneath the white one. I pulled a clip board from a shelf and moved out into the open, head down, intent on my task I hoped people would not notice.

I walked past walls of foetus's hanging in their fluids, gripping the clip board until the white of my knuckles showed. The workstation where the woman had been was now empty, and it was relatively shielded from the view of the rest of the lab. I headed straight for it.

When I got there I sat to make it look like I was busy, trying to scope the area and find the best place to start looking for Ghost, my eyes fell on the cabinet that held the remains of Yelena and my son and my heart lurched. I didn't want to leave them here.

I grabbed a bottle of ethanol from the bottom of the cabinet and looked about for a cloth, I found nothing. I reached into my pockets, hoping to find something there but they were empty . . . I pulled hard at my pocket, the lining starting to rip and tear, pulling harder and harder until the inner pocket came free, I pulled the lid from the ethanol, gagging at the potency of the smell and stuffed the pocket rag into it. Molotov cocktail, simple, but it would be effective.

I placed the open topped ethanol into the cabinet amongst the various remains, pulling a second bottle I poured the contents over the entire desk and around the rest of area I stood

"Ser esse senda mime melda" _Rest in peace my beloved_ I whispered as I used a Bunsen lighter to catch the pocket material alight. I closed the doors and made a hasty exit from the area, heading to the operator room to my left, I dived behind the door as the ethanol caught fire shattering the glass of the cabinet and thus began the panic in the room I had left. I saw a small latch to the door, a simple lock but I turned it. I knew there were plenty of ways in and out and if I'd had my way I would have locked them all in to burn.

13

My comm. unit pinged at me; the download had given me access to the cameras in the building. I moved through the corridors, checking rooms where I could and flipping through the files in my head looking for Ghost. Where are you? I thought to myself, suddenly there she was. Alone in a small room, laid on a table. She wasn't moving, but I didn't know if that was due to the straps that had tied her down, I pulled the camera location, she was only a few rooms away from me!

I raced down the corridor, pulling the white lab coat off as I did so, the few people around were dressed in navy or purple. As I rounded the corner I caught sight of the guard posted at her door.

He was huge, I could not tell if he was just a bulked up human, or if there was metahuman in his genes, the shirt he wore did nothing to hide his strength, and he was armed, a pistol and taser sat at his hip.

"Hey" I said as nonchalantly as I could "I need to check on her vitals" I indicated the door he guard and waved my clipboard that I had miraculously managed to keep hold of. The guard raised one large hairy eyebrow at me and grunted, but did not move. "Well hey if you want her to be in a crappy condition when the boss gets here you can take the rap for it, what's your ID badge number MR . . . ?" it was a poor bluff, but surprisingly he fell for it as he stepped aside to let me in. once inside I flicked the lock, not that I thought for one moment that the ply board door would keep the brute out of the room if he really wanted to get in.

I turned to Ghost, she was dressed only in a thin paper gown like the kind you get in hospitals, hooked up to what I had first thought to be a heart monitor, but the tubes weren't hollow, they were wires, they moved from the unit to the table, snaking across and beneath her fire coloured hair to her neck . . .

She was in the matrix

She didn't have a comm. unit to be immersed, that was heavy tech you needed, and there was no way they could plug her in as deep as that . . . was there?

The lights in the room went out, replaced by red light and a siren. My little fire in the lab had gotten out of control

"Wizbit, Lambast, Firefly" I called "Do you have what you need yet?"

"You started the party without us?" Wizbit asked "We're ready, we're busting through the wall to the examination room in 5, 4, 3 . . . ." I had no idea where that room was in relation to where I now stood, I covered Ghost with my own body as they ended the countdown. They couldn't have been more than twenty feet away from the way the walls shook and the ceiling tiles that fell down around us. I pinged Wizbit my location and turned to the task of trying to unplug Ghost. The unit she was hooked to was remote access only; there was no data port that I could use to hack it. I pulled the straps free from her as I tried to think of what to do, I couldn't risk pulling the plug on her, dump shock was crippling, she'd never make it, especially given a direct link, pulling the wires could rip out part of her spinal cord.

Beside me the door cracked and banged as the body of the guard broke through it, Lambast's face appeared and pulled the human guard away from the opening he had made.

"Wizbit and Firefly are planting a few time bombs, we can blow this anytime from the next twenty seconds" he said, his eyes caught Ghost's form "She okay?"

"No" I shook my head "She's in deep, I think they plugged her straight to her brain, I can't pull her loose" I said beside me Ghost's body shook, she looked like she was fitting. Was the power out to her link? I stepped away out of shock and reflex.

Her eyes snapped open and she screamed, the sound cutting into me, her eyes were wild, they weren't looking at anything!

"Holy mother of . . ." Lambast began, pulling me out of the way, on the table Ghost fitted and contorted, the agony etched over her face

"What the hell is going on?!" I shouted to Lambast over the sound of Ghosts screams, his face was as clueless as mine as Ghost thrashed on the table, unsure what to do Lambast tried to hold her steady lest she fall off and hurt herself even more. The next thing I knew Wizbit was beside me pulling me away, his healer's eyes assessing faster than my now numb brain could compute

"We need to pull the plug" Wizbit said, the few tubes and wires that clung to Ghosts arms came loose, her blood starting to pool on the table as she bucked, her eyes rolling

"Won't that kill her?" Lambast and I asked at the same time

"Yes, but so will keeping her as she is, this way at least it will be quick" Wizbit looked at me, nervous that this was a big decision, but keenly aware that we needed to get out before we could set the explosives off. Behind him Lambast cried out and pulled away from Ghost's body, flexing his hands

"She's burning up, and I don't just mean a little" he said, his skin blistering. Ghost spasmed and screamed again, her back arching, curling up on her toes she screamed as though her very soul was being ripped from her. Wizbit cursed, reach over, grasping the tangle of wires that lead to her neck and pulled. Hard.

The next thing I knew Lambast was dragging me up from the floor.

The room had exploded outwards, Firefly was carrying an unconscious Wizbit, my ears were ringing, though I could see Lambast was talking I couldn't hear a word of what he said, I shook my head trying to filter out the loud ring. The best I could do was switch to using the comm. unit to link the sounds direct to my brain.

". . . Your arse, you stupid fool, she'll kill you if you don't move" Lambast pulled me up, not even taking a moment to address the debris and plasterboard around us, he pulled hard on my lab coat and my feet stumbled alongside his

"What about Ghost" I coughed

"I'd worry about you first mate" Lambast shouted over the ringing, he shoved me down a corridor filled with dust and smoke "run you idiot" I looked past him back the way we had come and froze.

Ghost

She was alive

14

Ghost stood in the remains of the room, her eyes were open but there was something very wrong. Her normally bright red hair had turned white, and she glowed a bright white all around her, her green eyes were glazed over in white too, she didn't look real . . . she looked pissed

She waved her hand; the wall on the opposite side of the corridor blew outward. There were guards rushing past us, ignoring us but skidding to a halt at the creature that stood before them, one took aim with his taser, the barbs hitting her directly to her skin, the current didn't phase her, she simply waved a hand and blasted them from their feet, I wasn't sure if they'd get back up from the rubble she had left them in.

"Move!" Lambast all but threw me forward, half pushing and half dragging, I couldn't believe what I had seen. In a daze I found myself at the foot of some stairs, the walls and area here dark and slightly damp

"Where are we?" I asked

"Next door basement" Lambast grunted, above us Wizbit was on his own feet following Firefly out into the open air, we followed, sounds of explosions and people screaming filled the air behind us.

Lambast all but threw me out into the open air of the street, now littered with people who worked in the building, some scared, others confused.

I found Wizbit and pulled up beside him

"What's going on?" I asked, he looked at me as thought I had spoken gibberish, then I realised his ear drums had probably blown, I set up a comm. link, hoping he could hear that in his head

"I have no idea" Wizbit said truthfully "I had no idea she had this kind of power, do you know if they gave her anything?" We ducked as a shockwave blew out the windows of the building, showering the pavement with glass. "She's gone nuclear, she's got no control" he shouted in his own voice over the noise

"What would cause something like this?" Lambast asked, I sent an emergency comm. to Torrin, maybe he would know

"The only time I've heard of it happening is a guy who didn't know he had latent mage power took a hallucinogenic powder, seriously fucked up his state of mind, opened up his gift and he went AWOL"

"What happened to him?" Lambast asked

"It killed him" Wizbit said "But Ghost knows about her power, she's not that strong" he insisted "She's either got more juice than she ever let on or . . ." he paled and turned to the building as the lower south wall blew out showering the street with debris

"What?!" I shouted

"They hit a nerve" he said in disbelief "They've unlocked some trauma from her past, the matrix dump must have made her relive some horrible moment or memory that she had suppressed" he looked at me and ran a nervous hand through his hair "let me explain, if a mage of a certain type gets angry he can use that anger to fuel his magic, it's a temporary hit to the magic and the drain on the body is huge, usually it's a desperate kill or be killed response, a one shot. But this . . ." he waved towards the building "this is insane energy; this is soul destroying levels of hurt, adrenaline surge on extreme mode"

People around us started screaming and pointing, from the rubble around the door stepped a figure, glowing in a shroud of white, the very air around her pulsing was Ghost. What little that remained of the building behind her creaked and groaned loudly.

"When I give the word you'll need to run in and grab her" I hadn't even heard Torrin approach

"How did you get here so fast?!" I asked in shock

"I was in the coffee shop around the block, just in case" he grunted, a deft clawed hand opened up a small ornate box, inside was a bullet. But it didn't look like any bullet I had ever seen. It looked like a cage in the shape of a bullet, inside was a piece of rock, the size of a jack port, he opened his revolver and loaded it

"You're going to kill her?!"

"Shut it and just be ready" Torrin said calmly, of the people around us, he was the only one who didn't seem at all surprised by the scene in front of him. In the distance we could hear sirens, he pulled a small crucifix from around his neck and kissed it, muttering, and then levelled the pistol at Ghost "NOW!" he shouted as he pulled the trigger.

The shot hit her square in the chest, her eyes went wide a moment before she began to fall backwards, and I viewed the scene as if in slow motion as I raced towards her, pulling the lab coat from me as I went. She hit the rubble around her hard, her eyes open; as I reached her I pulled her to me, drawing the coat around her to protect her modesty. At first I thought her dead, but as I picked her up and pulled her close to me I could feel her breath against my skin. She was hot to the touch, burning even. With Wizbit beside me between us we carried her out of the rubble to where Torrin stood, Firefly's truck pulling in we all clambered aboard, some of the people watched us, others were too afraid and caught up in what they were going through to care, as we turned the corner the siren lights came around the other corner.

Torrin pulled an old battered comm. unit from his pocket, a real old school unit that only did voice; it looked older than the orc himself.

"Doc, we're heading to you, it's happened" that was all he said and then he hung up, in my arms Ghost's hair was starting to turn back to its vibrant red, the hole in her chest where the bullet had hit oozed blood and a foul smell. Wizbit beside me fidgeted. "If you're thinking of taking a look with your mage site young master you would do well to head my warning and leave it be" Torrin said

"So are you going to explain this?" I asked

"Are you?" Torrin said leaning over me, I was never one to be intimidated, but I got the distinct impression that the only reason I was alive at that very moment was because I was holding Ghost "You could start by telling me how she ended up plugged into the matrix, how she was separated from you and why it's not your body laid here in this truck?" his voice was low and dripped danger in every syllable. The great black orc leaned back and tapped on the cab window "head to Mont Street, the old brothel house" he said. Doc's clinic

15

It was days before we could see her, Doc had been waiting when we arrived, she was accompanied by her entire staff, as we moved through the corridors I noted that there was no one else around save for a few patients trapped in their beds, the doors to their rooms bolted, Wizbit tugged on my sleeve "warded" he whispered. So they had battened down the wards in case she woke up in the same state she had been when we knocked her out, a wise move. Doc shooed everyone away, including Torrin who did not look pleased.

We spent two days in the clinic waiting on news, orderlies came and went, but Doc did not leave that room with Ghost. Amm stopped by, he and Torrin spoke briefly before Amm walked into the suite that held Ghost with a bag, he came out moments later, grunted to Tor then moved on. At one point an orderly came from the room covered in blood, rolling a small table with a silver tray on which sat a few broken bits of wire, drenched in blood and tissue. Finally at dawn on the third day Doc stepped from the room. She had dark circles under her eyes, her clothes were mussed and she looked exactly as I expected someone who had not eaten or slept to look after so long.

"Tor, she's alive, I can't tell what damage until she wakes up, but she's under very heavily, I don't know if she even will wake up"

"The stone?" Torrin asked

"I've gotten every piece out of her, and took the liberty of removing the last of her implant, they can't plug her in without going direct to the brain stem" she assured him.

"Can I see her?" he asked. Doc looked at me then back to Torrin and nodded

"Not you" she said, her tone clipped, I stopped in my tracks and turned to her

"Why not?" I asked "She's my friend" I pleaded

"One at a time" she sighed "you'll have to wait your turn" she said to me, taking a moment to look at me "You look like shit" she said

"I thought you were setting a trend" I quipped back and dodged her half hearted smack, I hadn't been to sleep or gone home to change either, my hair was still full of dust and rubble, but I couldn't leave, not when she was in that room, not knowing if she was ever coming out. I told this to Doc and she smiled awkwardly

"Listen if you think that you and Ghost have a thing . . ." she began

"Lord no" I interrupted, "we're friends" I said pausing "I just . . . I don't have many friends" I explained, she nodded in understanding

"Runners never do" she said "We rarely have friends, only family" she put a hand on my shoulder, a look of mild disgust spread over her face and she pulled away her hand "You've been sat in my hospital covered in _germs_ this whole time?" she asked.

I laughed nervously and stepped away "I'll err, now that I know Ghost is sort of alright I'll just head home and take a shower, come back later shall I?" I hightailed it out of there, scary she-elf.

When I returned about an hour later Tor was sat outside Ghosts room with a coffee cup, he looked up at me as I approached, carrying a bouquet of flowers I had picked up on my way here and a stuffed animal, that looked like a cartoon weasel, I wasn't sure why I thought to buy it, but I suppose it reminded me of that fur ball Mei-Juu that they kept. I gave him a shy half smile. He leaned back in his chair and motioned that I should sit

"You know you're not a bad guy" he began "but you're reckless, you decided to try looking around rather than raising the alarm and getting everyone out from the beginning. They might have already plugged her in by the time you got to her, but you shouldn't have left her. You should never have gotten separated"

"Ghost is a strong woman, I trusted her to take care of herself" I tried to explain "I didn't realise this would happen"

"I know, but you forget that Ghost in full control is very different from a woman who is in the throes of early pregnancy" he said "She's nauseous, cramping, light headed. Do you really think that means she can take care of herself in the same way?" my shoulders slumped, he was right.

"I'm sorry" I told him "I'll apologise to Ghost too, before you tell me" I sighed "I just don't get where that came from, how she could reach such energy levels"

"Ghost has a past which is further down the rabbit hole than you think" Torrin said "The data you collected, do me a favour and don't look at it" he levelled his yellow eyes on mine "in twenty four hours it'll be gone, the company will have been wiped from the face of the planet and clear water will have done its work" he explained. He stood and took a final gulp of his coffee, grimacing at the taste "Oh, and there's a data bomb in there which will kill a hacker, even one as skilled as you" he warned

Ordinarily I would have risen to that challenge, but something told me he wasn't kidding. Torrin may play it old school, but his work was flawless, if he had created a data bomb to destroy a neural link, then I didn't doubt for a second its effectiveness.

"If I were you Lathain I'd walk away from here and forget about Ghost, whilst you can" he threw the coffee cup into the bin beside him and walked towards the exit. He paused for a moment before handing me a data chip "you should have this" he said "It's all I could find on her, but you're the closest thing she has to family, someone should remember her" then he walked away

The room that Ghost lay in was dimly lit, warm and silent but for the quiet and rhythmic beep of the monitor beside her. She was pale, a tube down her throat as a ventilator breathed for her, but her heart was steady. She looked so frail on that bed. I placed the flowers in a vase at her bedside and settled the stuff animal on her lap.

"Sorry Ghost" I whispered, I wasn't sure what else to say to her, and in the end I decided that that would be enough. I turned around and walked away, not really sure if I'd ever see her again.

Epilogue

When I woke it was a while before I could open my eyes, at first I thought I was in a war zone, the sound of shouting, a flash or two bleeding through my closed eye lids, but things seemed to calm down.

The smell reminded me of somewhere, somewhere familiar

When my eyes opened I could hear a soft beeping, white tiles above my head, scorched in places as if they had been badly burned. My chest was sore and the back of my neck burned, I lifted a heavy hand to the back of my head, gauze dressings were pressed there.

I tried to think back, what had been the last thing I could remember?

I had been sat on the clinic bed, speaking with the Doctor, I . . . I had been drugged, that much I knew. My head hurt trying to remember. I recalled a room; white walled, white tiles with a drain in the centre, the smell of bleach had been so strong . . .

"You're remembering again" a voice told me, snapping me back to the here and now, I glanced to my side to find Torrin, his yellow eyes looking at me. He seemed nervous

"What happened?" I asked my throat croaky. Torrin pulled a jug from the bedside table and poured me a small amount of water to sip

"I had hoped you could tell me" Torrin began "but every time you try to remember you burn up and things get . . ." he sighed "You blew up the building Ghost" he said, he sounded as though he'd rehearsed this only to now not have the energy to tell the story "whenever you try to remember what they did to you something happens to you and you reach the same kind of state . . ."

"You nearly blew up the ward ghost" Doc said as she walked into the room "Tor is trying not to make you feel bad, but girl you nearly blew us up too" she looked tired and worn, she leaned over to check the stats on the machine "You were in the matrix Ghost, they plugged you directly in"

"What?!" I started shaking; Doc pulled a syringe from her pocket

"Calm Ghost, don't make me use this" she said sternly "They put you under, your conscious self must have realised at some point and you panicked. The mental shock kicked your magic into overdrive and starting taking out the walls"

I was breathing heavily, Torrin looked ready to pin me should Doc need to use the syringe, only now did I notice white bandages over his clawed hands, had I hurt him at some point?

Doc must have read my mind "your excess magic came out in three ways, your body sent out shock waves that did most of the structural damage, you lit up like a Christmas tree, with your magic running so hot that it was visible to non-magic users and your body temperature shot up to over eight hundred degrees" I looked up at the ceiling at the scorch marks "Yes, that was you, no I'm not mad, and yes you're paying for the damage" she said calmly "you also owe me a new bed, you destroyed the last one"

She put the syringe away and scribbled away at the clip board at the foot of my bed, then looked to Torrin "Your contact is here" she said, mild disgust edged her voice. Tor nodded and she left without another word

"What does this mean for me now?" I asked "Am I going to go nuclear or something?" I was afraid, it sounded as thought I had been out of control

"You'll be fine" Torrin assured me "Wizbit recommended a Kabal for you to go and learn control over your power" he pulled a batted piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me

"How is Wizbit, and Lathain?" I asked, Torrin growled in his throat as I mentioned the elf

"They're all fine, Firefly is off on some mission in Europe, Lambast came by to see how you were and Wizbit stayed long enough to make sure you weren't dead before disappearing"

"What about Lathain?" I asked curiously, I had almost expected him to be waiting outside for me to wake up as he had done from getting back from the Amazon

Tor looked uncomfortable for a moment "He's not here" he said flatly "he waited until Doc had finished with you, said his apologies then said his goodbyes" Tor looked at me carefully a moment, not sure how I would react "I don't think he'll be back any time soon Ghost, maybe you're better off forgetting about him"

I sat in silence for a while, part of me had expected Lathain to disappear after the mission was over, on further discussion I learned that we had brought the group out into the open, those that had survived the explosion had been pulled in front of the dragons, the mayor had promised to build a memorial for the children who had been killed. The other half of me was upset that he hadn't stuck around; maybe we weren't meant to be friends.

"Tor" a gruff voice from the door called "I have that item you wanted" A goblin stood there, the goblin Meta was rare, or at least rare to see on the surface. The creatures clawed hands were black with dirt and his teeth were a dark yellow, that would explain Doc's distaste.

"Ghost, this is Varge" the Goblin came closer "He works with EMP technology for the runner community and he's very good at what he does"

"Hi . . ." I said nervously not knowing quite what to expect, I glanced at Torrin, why was this thing, _this guy_ , I corrected, here?

"Ghost this . . ."Tor said taking a parcel from the Goblin ". . . is a portable EMP, its designed to short out any electrical equipment in a five meter radius if it's activated"

"Eight" corrected Varge "This device is linked to a heart monitor, designed to go off under heavy stress levels" Tor unwrapped the parcel to show a small black band

"How does it work?" I asked taking it from Tor to look at it more closely

"Best to wear it close to your chest" the Goblin replied "This will go off if your heart rate hits what it did back in the matrix; the device will go off to dump you out"

"The dump shock alone would kill you" Tor said "The device has an explosive set to go off, that's how it generates the EMP" he sighed and turned to Varge "The money is in your account, would you leave us please?" Varge nodded his head and I watched him slink away

"So this is to kill me if I'm ever in the matrix again?" I asked, I was confused, why would Tor buy me something that would kill me?

"This isn't to protect _you_ Ghost" he said calmly "This is to protect everyone else around you, we can't afford for you to have another episode like the one you just came out of, you could destroy more than just a building" he paused "It would be quick for you" he said

I nodded numbly, the device now felt heavy in my hands, it was this or hurt people I cared about, I didn't have the heart to refuse it.

A note from the author

Hey guys, this is technically the second campaign that my gaming team and I went through, the whole thing lasted only two sessions though, so ended up being written as an intermediary short story, taking place shortly after "Shadowrunner" or campaign one. After my character's cover was blown I had very little to do but watch, Ben thought it would be cool for me to role some checks to see if I could get out of the matrix on my own. . . and as you can probably tell I failed my roles. MISERABLY.

At that point Ben decided to go "Phoenix" on everyone's ass and have my character damn near explode (so many fate points burned . . .) Given that I wasn't in control of my character I decided to write the latter part of the story from the perspective of Lathain, or at least as best I could given that no one knows what the boy is really thinking. I had been pretty graphic in the last story on why Ghost hates the matrix so this seemed like a better way to progress the story, rather than go over events fro the previous book.

As usual the campaign story was amazingly fun to play despite the poor dice rolls and it helped to set Ghost's demeanor for the next campaign . . .

Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed it!

Cheers

Ghost

xxx


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